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The 29th BIFF announces Special Program in Focus, ‘In Memory of Lee Sun-kyun’

  • Friday, August 23, 2024, 12:03 pm
  • ACROFAN=Newswire
  • newswire@acrofan.com
Busan International Film Festival will present the Special Program in Focus, ‘In Memory of Lee Sun-kyun’. Six of the eponymous actor’s most well-loved works will be on screen, and Special Talk events will be scheduled alongside them. Through the program, the festival aims to reflect on and commemorate the achievements of the late actor, whose diversified and profound performances have represented the Korean film scene.

In addition, the late actor Lee Sun-kyun has been selected to receive this year’s Korea Cinema Award.

The Korean Cinema Award is given to filmmakers who have contributed to promoting Korean cinema globally. This year, the award will be presented to the late actor Lee Sun-kyun at the Opening Ceremony for his diverse filmography, which is beloved by the international film community.

First up in the program is a collection of three early films that brought Lee to the public attention as an actor to watch out for. Director Park Chan-ok's Paju (2009), which earned him the Best Actor Award at the Las Palmas International Film Festival 2010, sees the actor offer a delicate portrayal of a conflicted character, an ex-political activist with a sense of calling who falls in love with his sister-in-law.

Also included in the program are: Our Sunhi (2013), directed by Hong Sangsoo, which won the Best Director award at Locarno International Film Festival 2013 with an energetic stand-out performance from Lee; and A Hard Day (2014), which screened in the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2014 and had Lee execute intense action sequences and suspenseful acting in the role of a corrupt detective.

An episode of My Mister (2018), a widely beloved TV series in which Lee touched the hearts of many through his understated and humane performance, has also been selected for the big screen experience through the special program. My Mister (2018), produced by Studio Dragon, was an instant success when it first aired in 2018 and remains a personal favorite for many. Of the 16 episodes, the fifth episode was chosen to best showcase both Lee’s presence as an actor and the essence of the character of Park Dong-hoon cinematically.

Parasite (2019), the Bong Joon-ho feature that marked the pinnacle of Lee Sun-kyun’s acting career when it became the first Korean film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 and garnered four awards at the Academy Awards 2024, and Lee’s posthumous film Land of Happiness (2024) where he plays a righteous soldier who gets embroidered in a presidential assassination, will also be screened.

Busan International Film Festival 2024 will be held for ten days from Oct 2 (Wed) to Oct 11 (Fri) at the Busan Cinema Center.